A DANISH ELEMENTARY SCHOOL 



As the educational system of a country has un- 

 doubtedly much to do with the formation of the 

 national character and its success or failure among 

 peoples, I made up my mind if possible to visit one of 

 the Danish elementary schools. This, as it chanced, 

 was easy for me, as Mr. Jerndorff Jessen, a gentleman 

 with whom I have been acquainted by correspondence 

 for many years as the translator of books that I have 

 written, is skole inspektor or headmaster of the great 

 Skolen pact, Duevej in Frederiksberg, the well-known 

 suburb of Copenhagen. Accepting his kind and 

 pressing invitation, I spent a morning in visiting this 

 school, and record my impressions of it here, as I 

 think they may be of interest to all students of 

 elementary education. 



The school, which is one of eight in Frederiksberg, 

 is an imposing building, completed in 1906, with 

 accommodation for 1350 children. Like most of the 

 Danish schools and all of those in Frederiksberg, the 

 education here is given without any charge. There 

 exist, however, in Copenhagen and most of the other 

 Danish towns, schools of a higher class that are called 

 payment schools, where 1 or 2 kroner (is. ijd. or 

 2s. 3d.) a month are charged as an education fee. 

 Some data connected with this Danish system of 

 elementary education will be found set out in the paper 

 which I publish as an appendix (see Appendix E). 

 This paper is compiled from information furnished to 



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